It's raining Chickens

Posted on Mon Nov 18th, 2024 @ 12:22am by Lieutenant JG Zai & Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami

1,727 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well
Location: USS Arcadia - Various

ON:

Zai grinned as he finished the rigging in Adrianna’s office. She would be on shift shortly. He’d rigged her seat so that as soon as she sat down there would be a loud pop followed by confetti and chicken stickers raining down on her from above, along with a note that would lead her on a bit of a treasure hunt that would end in a surprise. If she didn’t come and find Zai and kill him first.

He hurried and cleaned up and left, chuckling all the way back to engineering.

Adrianna had her nose in a PaDD, lost in her routine, coming into her office. The manifests for the ships that had been lost were definitely strange. She couldn't quite place it though. Heading for the replicator, she grabbed a black coffee and headed for her desk. Placing the coffee and PaDD down, Adrianna sat, triggering the device.

Bang!

Acting on instinct, Adrianna dropped to the floor, pulling a phaser. Her heart pounded out of her chest. Upon seen a couple of hundred chickens raining down on her though, she took a breath. Oh... She was going to kill Zai. She stood up and brushed the chickens off of her seat and desk. Her eyes went to her mug of coffee longingly. It was now tainted by confetti chickens.

Picking up the mug, she spotted a map. She raised an eyebrow curiously, picking it up to inspect it as she tossed the mug in the recycling and grabbed a fresh cup of coffee. Gawd knows she needed one now. Pausing for a moment, she dropped Zai a message, "I'll take the bait but you're cleaning this merde up!"

Zai who'd been in engineering laughed when he sat the message in his in box. "Follow the badly written poetry."

On the map was a poem to get her started.

Roses are yellow and the chickens are white
when you get to the arboretum don't go in...
take the door to the right.

PS: Look for another chicken sealed map.

Adrianna took a breath as she sipped her coffee before dropping Zai another message: "Deadly serious about you cleaning this up. Also, FYI, rigging explosives to scare an ex intel op is dangerous. Tell me there are no other fowl bombs". The woman wanted to be braced if there were. She sighed and finished her coffee, before finishing an internal debate with herself and heading out to the arboretum, or rather, the door before it on the right.

Zai laughed as he read her message. "I will have the mess cleaned before you return."

Adrianna looked around and soon spotted an envelope with a chicken drawn on it. She wondered if this was Zai's way of missing a few days since he'd been unwell. She hadn't minded, the truths was that whilst yes, she'd missed it, she just wanted him to focus on getting better. She looked around but couldn't miss the giant arrow pointing to a bucket of chicken stickers. Digging around she found another note.

Roses are Red and Daisies are white,
Go to the room with lots of starlight....okay writing that,
I realize there are a lot of places that may be true....
Just go to the observation lounge and look for the next clue by the window seats

PS - I suck at poetry.

Adrianna could help but chuckle at the admittance of being a bad poet. He was trying, and it was sweet. It helped her mood, honestly. It had been a rollercoaster the last few weeks and she could feel herself starting to get back on track.

Adrianna wandered down to the observation lounge. She found the note pretty easily, but before reading it saw a huge canvas on a seat. She pulled it out and unrolled it. She laughed, having to roll the painting back up to compose herself.

The painting itself was a rather regal portrait of Vance in a chicken costume. Not only was it garish, it was hilariously realistic. She shook her head and opened the final note, trying not to burst out laughing again.

Tritanium is silver and shuttles are too go to the bay for your final clue.

In the shuttle bay Vance had set up chicken stickers leading into the shuttle he came on and to the pilot's chair. There was a note there that said look behind you. He'd be waiting in the shadows for her to read the note.

Now though he paced back and forth waiting for Zai to confirm she got the second note as he was monitoring Adrianna's progress through Engineering.

Adrianna carried the rolled up canvas over her shoulder like a badge of honour. In truth, she was scared of people in costumes like that, but the painting and concept had seriously tickled her. Stepping through to the shuttle bay, she saw the trail and froze. This seemed like a bit more of a set up for something. She instantly felt nervous. She didn't want to get her hopes too high but she couldn't help it.

Finally finding her courage, she followed the trail and came to the pilots seat. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that it had only led to another clue. Her emotions we about to switch though as she read it.

Turn around.

Adrianna almost felt scared to do so, but when she did, she froze. There, in the shuttle– Vance. Her gaze met his, and in that instant, the rest of the ship, the galaxy even, seemed to fall away. She could hardly breathe. Every piece of her wanted to doubt what she was seeing, but the glimmer of familiarity in his eyes made her heart leap in a way she hadn’t felt in so long. Adrianna no longer saw the clouded look of not recognising her. Those were knowing eyes; they were the eyes of her Vance.

She crossed the space between them in a heartbeat, the distance that had felt impossible suddenly gone. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him, her fingers trembling as they found the familiar feeling of her soulmate. All the emotions she’d held back– the hurt, the longing, the desperate hope– poured out in that single embrace. She buried her face against his shoulder, breathing in the scent she’d never thought she’d find again.

Vance had been petrified his heart hammering in his chest as he'd watched her walk and find the note. He'd stepped out quietly and when she turned his breath, as it always did when she was around, caught. He saw her moving and opened his arms and when she was securely within them he held on for dear life letting his tears fall without hesitation. "Surprise," he choked out.

Adrianna allowed herself to break, quietly crying in his arms, not letting go. She went through every emotion upon her brain clicking into believing that everything was real-- him being alive, him having his memories back and him being here-- finding the reality of the situation overwhelming. "I thought I'd lost you," she admitted, murmuring into his shoulder between tears. She didn't want to let go, she did feel like she gripped him tighter, almost like a desperation for this to not be a practical joke or just a dream.

He held on tight. "I'm here now, I won't go away again, I promise."

She nodded subtly, closing her eyes and just taking in that he was holding her again. Being in his arms had always felt like the safest space. In that moment she felt complete. She finally looked up at him, though stayed holding onto him. Her eyes gazed into his and she nervously and desperately demanded, "promise that you're back-- your memories are yours. You are you again. I'm yours again. That you love me. Vance, I can't take anymore heartbreak. Not if you are involved. Please. Promise me that this is real. I am begging you." Adrianna nervously rambled switching between standard and Italian and her mind worked spiraled, being unable to comprehend just how real this all was-- no allowing her to accept what she knew.

He pulled back enough to take her face in his hands. "I'm back, I remember everything, and I do love you." He gently kissed her lips and then pulled back. "It's going to be okay. I promise. And hey, I survived your brother with an invite to the family reunion."

Her expression softened, though she could still feel herself trembling and her heart pounding out of her chest. A small smile graced her lips after he kissed her and told her about surviving Giovanni. She rested her hands on his chest and just gazed into his eyes. She didn't need to say anything but one think was on the tip of her tongue, "I want you to know-- I never stopped loving you. Even when I thought you were gone-- I never stopped." She reached up and cupped his cheek, stroking his stubble with her thumb, "Madonna, you're back."

"I am back...sadly on life time contract to the fleet." He grinned. "So can't be naughty." He laughed. "Now then. We have all the time in the world. But how about dinner? I set up a picnic in the arboretum for us. Zai closed the place down for us 'emergency repairs.' so it's all ours."

"You may be on a life time contract, but I will follow you anywhere, il mio capitano," she smiled, "as for a picnic, si, absolutely, but I want you to know that after today, I may murder Zai. He rigged a damn confetti cannon with chickens. Brought back memories of a glitter bomb." She sighed, but there was amusement in her eyes, "tell me the picnic includes chicken. After all of this, I never want to see another chicken."

Before he could even respond, or that they could go anywhere, she kissed him deeply and lovingly, pouring all of her emotions into that one kiss. When she broke the kiss she grinned, "seems the universe prefers us together in this capacity."

He laughed. "Let's go." He took her hand smiled. "Let's start day one of the rest of our lives."

OFF:

 

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